Archives for November 2014

The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) allows eligible employees to take leave from work to care for family or personal medical situations. FMLA leave may be continuous or intermittent. In Hansen v. Fincantieri Marini Group, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided two important intermittent FMLA issues. First, the court held that the FMLA does not require an employee to present expert testimony to prove the employee was incapacitated on each day he or she requested intermittent FMLA leave. Second, the court decided an employer should not summarily deny intermittent FMLA leave when an employee exceeds the estimated length or duration of intermittent FMLA leave provided by a doctor in an FMLA medical certification form. [Read more…]

To establish a claim of race, religious, or gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee must establish that he or she was subjected to an “adverse job action”. Historically, courts have defined an adverse job action as an action affecting the terms and conditions of employment. Adverse job actions include a termination, a failure to hire, a demotion, or the payment of unequal compensation.

In Thompson v. City of Waco Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a city police department’s restriction of a detective’s responsibilities after his return to work was sufficient to fall within Title VII’s definition of “adverse action”. The Fifth Circuit’s decision expands the definition of an adverse job action to include actions which do not affect an employee’s title or compensation. [Read more…]

The law protects employees who are terminated on the basis of certain characteristics, including but not limited to, race, sex, religion, pregnancy, age, and disability. The law provides less protection for employees who voluntarily resign from their employment as a result of discrimination based on these characteristics. [Read more…]

FAQs

As soon as you believe you have been denied employment, a promotion, or are the target of harassment due to gender discrimination on the job, consult an attorney before contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

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